Valve just dropped a massive hint that the Steam Deck 2 could switch to Arm

With Valve announcing its Steam Machine and Steam Frame, it's set to deliver its Linux-based SteamOS to the living room, virtual reality and beyond. But the company has another trick up its sleeve — bringing Windows games to Arm devices.

Valve has been laying the groundwork to make games that are generally only playable on Windows devices available on Arm, as SteamOS architect Pierre-Loup Griffais explains in an interview with The Verge. This is made possible by using Proton, a compatibility layer for Steam, and Fex, an open-source emulation layer, with a combination of both allowing x86 games for Windows PCs to run on Arm-based devices.

As noted, the game distribution giant has been funding open-source developers since 2016 to make this possible, with the goal of making it easier for ga